A decade ago, Veronica Roth’s debut novel, Divergent, was released. Garnering high praise from critics and readers alike, Divergent propelled Roth into the spotlight as an author with an eye for action and plot twists that would break your heart. To this day, Divergent is still a much discussed trilogy that stands out amongst the crowd of YA dystopian stories.
With the 10th anniversary of Divergent’s debut, beautiful new editions of the series are being released, featuring new covers with artwork from Victo Ngai and exclusive content from Veronica herself!
I recently got the chance to ask Veronica how she is feeling about the 10 year anniversary, what she has learned and how she has changed over the last 10 years, and what faction she considers herself in these days.
Hello Veronica! Thank you so much for taking the time for this Nerd Daily interview! Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and what you’ve been up to recently?
Thank you for having me! I’m Veronica, I live in Chicago, I have a spouse and a dog. What I’ve been up to lately, professionally speaking, is that last year I released my first book for adult readers, Chosen Ones, which is about a group of people who saved the world from a “dark lord” figure ten years ago and are now wildly famous for it. The world has asked them for too much already and it’s about to ask for a little bit more.
Personally speaking, I’ve been wearing comfortable pants as I become increasingly passionate about watching tennis and try to keep an orchid alive. Wild, I know.
April 2021 marked the 10 year anniversary of Divergent being released. How does that make you feel?
Old, mostly! I’ve written three novels and a short story collection since then, but it still feels like it shouldn’t be that long ago. Really, though, I feel proud and pleased that the books still have such a presence after ten years. I hear from new readers almost every day, and I feel fortunate to still be connecting to people through this series.
Looking back on the last 10 years, what is the most important thing you’ve learned about publishing?
You can really only control the work that you do. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push for the things you want, but it means that when disappointments come, and they will, no matter who you are, the only way to endure them is to return to the work that got you into books in the first place: writing. Writing is my home base and my anchor.
How has your writing style changed and evolved over time since Divergent was released?
At the end of the day, you can only ever be the writer you are. I’m not going to spontaneously start writing poetic prose. What I can do is become a better version of myself, though, so I’ve worked on things like detail, verisimilitude, humor, and pulling back during dramatic moments to leave room for the reader. I’ve also gotten a lot better at world-building. Chosen Ones, my most recent book, is also set in Chicago, and I think when you read it, it feels a lot more real than Divergent’s Chicago, which is a bit dreamlike. I remember the director of the Divergent movie, Neil Burger, asking me how the plumbing worked in Divergent Chicago, and I was embarrassed that I didn’t have an answer. I can definitely answer that for Chosen Ones. Currency, technology, plumbing, electrical, architecture, history. I know it, even if it’s not on the page. I’m particularly proud of that area of growth.
With Allegiant, you pulled off one of the most stunning finales of a YA trilogy to date, and it is still being talked about to this day. Did you always know you wanted to end the series this way or did the ending come into existence as you wrote?
I did know from the start, yes. I think you can see that in the way the books’ endings are structured– they very intentionally mirror each other. Tris in the tank in Divergent, Tris in Erudite headquarters in Insurgent, and finally, Tris in the lab in Allegiant— encountering roughly the same thing each time, but with different ways of thinking about it, so it changes slightly with each book. In the lead up to release–and my husband can attest to this!– I was actually worried I had telegraphed it too clearly, and there would be no surprise in it. This is something he and I laugh about now, because obviously I misread the situation. That said, I wouldn’t change the end of the series for the world. I did what felt right for the story, and that’s all any writer can do.
Interview continues below images…
Browsing your works, it is easy to see that science fiction is something you enjoy. What are some of your favorite works of science fiction?
Oh man. Well, my first big science fiction loves were Dune by Frank Herbert, 1984 by George Orwell, and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. But as I’ve gotten older and my understanding of the genre has expanded– and the genre itself has expanded, too!– I’ve found a lot of new favorites, like Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh, Rosewater by Tade Thompson, and I can’t believe I have to wait so long for the third book in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series to come out. (POUR ALECTO INTO MY BRAIN, PLEASE.)
I do want to say that I think science fiction really shines in the short fiction realm, so if you haven’t already, you should read Ted Chiang, Martha Wells, Ken Liu, Alexander Weinstein, and Nnedi Okorafor. George Saunders, too, writes short fiction that sometimes steps into the futuristic or fantastical.
Did you associate yourself with a faction back when Divergent first came out? Has that faction changed over the last 10 years?
I think it has changed depending on what life is throwing at me at the time. Dauntless was my answer when I was struggling with anxiety the most, and I felt like bravery was a constant requirement. But now that that’s not as necessary anymore, I can admit that I’m probably an Erudite. (At least, right now!) I think curiosity is one of the most important qualities a person can have, and one of the characteristics that most ensures open-heartedness and staves off judgmental attitudes. And I love, love, love to learn.
The 10th anniversary editions of the Divergent trilogy are STUNNING! How did it feel seeing the new covers? Did you have any input with the artist for their work on the covers?
I loved them. In the early stages of talking about the anniversary editions, I actually brought Victo Ngai’s work to my editor, who already knew about her and had worked with her before. It was serendipitous. We were delighted that she was up for it, and after that, no, I didn’t interfere– I wanted her to do her thing. I knew it would come out amazing, and I was right!
What have been some of your favorite books, movies, or TV series over the last 10 years?
For TV: The one I feel most passionate about is probably “Dark,” which you need to watch in German with English subtitles because the dubbing is unsettling. “The Expanse.” “Watchmen.” And I loved the big, weird swings of “The OA” and “Sense8,” both gone too soon.
For movies: “Ex Machina,” “The Vast of Night,” “Another Earth.” And “Rogue One” is the best Star Wars movie, don’t @ me.
For books: I got into this a bit earlier! But while I’m here, you should also read Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, Severance by Ling Ma, and Lightless by CA Higgins.
And lastly, are you working on any new creative endeavors in the near future that you can tell us about?
The paperback for Chosen Ones comes out at the same time as the Divergent anniversary editions! So if you were too busy washing all your groceries to read it the first time around (relatable), you can give it a try now with an awesome new cover by Matt Griffin. (Or, as ever, on audio with Dakota Fanning reading all the narrative sections, and a full cast– including, briefly, yours truly– for all the fictional documents.)
Other than that, I’ve got a few things percolating, but it’s a little too early to say more.
